National Historic Landmark

Vassar, Matthew, Estate

Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York
Listed
August 10, 1969
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
69000141

About this property

Springside was the estate of Matthew Vassar in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. It is located on Academy Street just off US 9. Detailed plans for a landscape, villa, and complex of farm buildings were drawn up by the influential Andrew Jackson Downing with assistance of Calvert Vaux prior to the former's death. The landscaping was completed and remains Downing's most intact surviving landscape, but only a few of the buildings he planned were ever built; most have since been lost to fire and structural failure. A cottage where Vassar resided was dismantled and removed in the mid-1970s. Its facade is on display in the New York State Museum. Downing's landscape, in the English landscape gardening tradition, has survived several serious efforts to redevelop the property in the last half-century due to opposition from local preservationists. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Matthew Vassar Estate, and further it was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1969, but the estate was not permanently protected for almost two decades, when a lawsuit was settled with the transfer of the land to its current owners, Springside Landscape Restoration.

Location

Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York
41.68929, -73.92685

Categories

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTUREARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Overview
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The Land
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Geology
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LiDAR Terrain
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Conflict & War
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The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
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Historical Maps
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Finds & Access
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Literature
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Spotlight
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Points of Interest
The most significant historic sites and landmarks near the location, and why they matter.
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Nearby Historic Sites

Moore House
Industrial
0.2 mi
Bain, F.R., House
Industrial
0.3 mi
Morschauser, Charles, House
Industrial
0.4 mi
Dwight-Hooker Avenue Historic District
Listed
0.4 mi
Reynolds House
Industrial
0.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Vassar, Matthew, Estate listed on the National Register?

Vassar, Matthew, Estate was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 10, 1969.

What type of historic resource is Vassar, Matthew, Estate?

Vassar, Matthew, Estate is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Vassar, Matthew, Estate a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Vassar, Matthew, Estate has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Vassar, Matthew, Estate?

The period of significance for Vassar, Matthew, Estate is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Vassar, Matthew, Estate?

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